CDN.net

CDN.net is a Content Delivery Network, based in London (UK) and operated by OnApp.

I have not personally used CDN.net, and therefore I’m asking for current users of this service to comment on the quality, usability and customer service that they provide. Please add your comments below, or email me directly with your feedback. If I get a consensus of feedback, then I will update this page to reflect that knowledge. In the mean time, I will talk about the aspects of this service that are available from public sources.

When you sign up to use CDN.net you need to choose the PoP‘s that you want to use. This means you can tailor the service exactly to your needs. It also means you have to know ahead-of-time where your users are going to be. If your business is in specific geographic locations, then this is great. If you have a world-wide user base, then you may need to pick only the PoP’s that you can afford, and let users who are far away from your selected PoP’s suffer accordingly.

Pricing is based on the actual PoP’s used, and the price (¢/GB) varies quite a bit. The Los Angeles (USA) PoP price is as low as 2.5 ¢/GB while Cape Town (South Africa) is as high as 100 ¢/GB (that’s $1/GB). They have an easy-to-use pricing calculator that allow you to estimate the actual cost before you sign up. While this is a pay-for-what-you-use type of service, they do require you to pay up front. It’s like a pre-payed cellphone, you have to load up your account before you can use their service, and they then deduct the account based on your usage. If your account runs out of cash, then they will likely suspend the service until you add more money to your account. I suppose this hassle is worth it if their service is superior in ways that are important to you. I would personally prefer to use something like CloudFront that charges you monthly (and bundles all AWS charges in a single bill).

Some of the special features that CDN.net offer are:

Large number of PoP’s in their network.

You get to pick the exact PoP’s to use.

Pay only for what you use (no minimum monthly quota).

If you are currently using CDN.net, or have used it recently, please comment on what you like/dislike about it. This will let other readers know what to expect, and help them select the best service for their needs. Thanks!

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2 comments on “CDN.net”

Thanks for covering the launch of CDN.net, I wanted to call out a particular point around buying CDN.

Traditional prepackaged CDN is typically expensive and under utilised you’re paying for 100% but only using 30%. Our custom CDN actually means you only pay for what you use – in turn reducing your costs.

Our model is prepay but you can try it from as little as $10. Our model is also credit based so if you don’t use all $10 it’s always there for you to return to, unlike the ‘use or lose’ mentality of prepackaged CDN.

Yes, thanks for stressing that point. There are many pricing models being used, and while I personally prefer after-the-fact billing, there may be some good reasons to go with pre-pay as well. For example, you will never blow through your budget if you pay up front. It’s much like a pre-payed cellphone plan compares to your regular plan where you may get charged extra for using more than your plan’s allotted minutes, etc.